Thor: A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Ragnarok (2017) (Review)

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Thor: Ragnarok follows an imprisoned Thor (Chris Hemsworth) as he must battle his way through a gladiatorial competition and Jeff Goldblum’s handsomeness in order to return to an Asgard on the brink of destruction courtesy of his long, lost sister Hela (Cate Blanchett). The film also stars Tom Hiddleston, Tessa Thompson, Mark Ruffalo, Idris Elba and Karl Urban and is directed by Taika Waititi (What We Do In The Shadows, Hunt For The Wilderpeople).

Captain Obvious PSA here: If you have a beautiful, bouncing baby in your possession, for the love of all that is holy please don’t bring it into a movie theatre auditorium.

My Thoughts On The Characters And Story

Thor: Ragnarok is easily my favourite Thor film out of the current 3, if they somehow managed to include the Queen Natalie Portman (and actually give her something to work with) it could have possibly been my favourite comic book film of the year (I’m still torn between Logan and Wonder Woman on that front). Utilizing the natural charisma Chris Hemsworth has and allowing him to demonstrate it in Ragnarok was one of the best decisions Marvel could’ve made. While Thor has been more of the stern, stoic Avenger for the past few film installments, Ragnarok’s Thor is the embodiment of charm. Hemsworth works so unbelievably well with every single person in this film, it’s such a delight to witness. You can feel the joy of every actor when they appear on screen and when they’re having fun, you’re having fun. Unfortunately, this fun became a bit tedious at times.

You’ve heard/read time and time again that Thor: Ragnarok is… fun! It’s a fun… fun ride, it’s a whole bunch of fun times at the movies and don’t get me wrong, it is. In terms of the humour component of it, I found myself chuckling at times when the dialogue was written effectively and the delivery was brilliant, however the one type of humour that I feel a bit of disdain for is when the prolongation of a joke occurs. By this, I mean a joke that is said and then the next 15 or 20 solid seconds are spent with the characters remaining in silence, looking around at each other and/or the room they’re in- I hate this shit. There are always exceptions to every rule so of course there are one or two examples in the film world where this is executed hysterically and it’s the funniest moment of the respective movie, in Ragnarok, certain humour components went on for so long it became eye-roll inducing at times. The entire cast is thankfully blessed with some wickedly smaht charisma so it wasn’t a torturous experience, however it definitely felt like everyone was anticipating the next ha ha! moment.

[Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney]Tessa Thompson was the biggest standout for me besides Hemsworth. From the moment this powerful entity drunkenly staggered onto the screen (and that GLORIOUS Valkyrie flashback, oh my word) I was infatuated. I felt the strongest emotional connection with her and the other Queen of the screen, Cate mf’ing Blanchett. After learning about her through every one of her expository moments, I sympathized with her. Odin (Sir Anthony Hopkins) was a jerk. She may have had violent tendencies in her youth, however she contributed to the formation of Asgard because she is a dominating force on the battlefield. Hate the player, do not. Hate the game. She can terrify the God of thunder and demolishedMjolner, a notion that is unheard of from any villain in the MCU thus far. While I would’ve liked to see more of her – preferably not monologuing her background – everything she did, I loved.

[Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney]Is there ever a time when Mark Ruffalo isn’t an unbelievably endearing presence on screen? Ragnarok did a terrific job in making me hyped to see more Thor in the upcoming Infinity War because I really wasn’t a big Thor fan in the past. As Phase 4 (this is four, right?) slowly concludes, hopefully we see more of Thompson in the MCU future within Phase # Whatever-Phase-Marvel-Wants-To-Shoot.

How Were The Other Aspects Of Thor: Ragnarok?

As someone who could listen to anything synth-related for the rest of my life, I cannot commend Ragnarok enough for its absolute killer soundtrack and score. Firstly, I consider using Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” as kind of cheating because that song can make even the most mundane of activities seem remarkably epic but I digress, the utilization of this song is virtually perfect. There is also a “Pure Imagination” sequence that is… SO. GOOD.

[Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney]I avoided as many trailers as I could have for the film (except for that initial spectacular teaser trailer) and following my watch, granted myself the opportunity to check them all out. I’ve been listening to the following tune that was used in another trailer and it is an incredibly enjoyable experience watching these other worldly beloved characters having space battles while the pulsating synth booms in the background.

The film’s aesthetic is gorgeous and offers a ton for the audience to feast their eyes on. The colourful garbage planet of Sakaar is run by Goldblum’s streak of glittery blue lipstick and is home to many interesting-looking characters who are probably descendants of the “Dink Dinks” from Spaceballs.

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Published by Ghezal

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My name is Ghezal. I'm just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world... jks I hail from the great white North city of Toronto, Ontario and I sure do love movies.
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